Running Archives | Page 10 of 21

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals

March 3, 2015 by Nicole 14 Comments

Chin ups, sit ups, push ups. We’re keeping things super simple with today’s workout. Pull ups and chin ups are something I can’t yet do unassisted (I’m working on it!), so I tie a resistance band around the bar and place one of my feet through it. It helps so much! The lower the resistance of the band, the harder the pull ups will be; if you need more support, go for a band with a heavier resistance.

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals

Equipment I Used:

Pull up bar (with a resistance band tied around it for assistance)
Treadmill
Exercise mat

You’ll go back and forth between a set of the “ups” and the treadmill. Every time you switch, the number of reps gets reduced by one and the distance you run gets reduced by .05 miles. So round one = 10 push ups, 10 v ups, 10 chin ups, .5 mile run. Round two = 9 push ups, 9 v ups, 9 chin ups, .45 mile run. By the end, you will have run a little under 3 miles and done 55 reps of each exercise. The rounds are quick! You’re running as fast as you can and getting through the “ups” taking as few breaks as possible. I know push ups and chin ups are familiar to most people, but if you’re unsure of what a v up crunch is:

V-UP CRUNCH | Start on your back with arms stretched overhead and legs hovering just slightly above the ground. Pull your abs in tight and press your low back to the ground. You’ll then crunch up, bringing your hands towards your toes (keeping legs and arms straight). When done correctly, your body will make a “v” shape as you crunch; this means you’re not just reaching your arms up, your chest needs to move towards your knees. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet should never touch the ground between reps.

WEARING | tank: Lorna Jane // leggings: Lululemon (out of stock, but similar ones here and here) // sneakers: Asics c/o Millet Sports

SHOP A SIMILAR LOOK:

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Cardio, Full Body, Pyramid, Running, Treadmill Workouts, Workouts

Winter Workout Playlist & Layering Up

February 24, 2015 by Nicole 17 Comments

Mmm looks like whatever I’m listening to in the above picture smells delicious.

Blogging is a two-way street: I share workouts/information with you guys, and I also learn a ton from all that you share in the comments section. When I wrote this post last year with tips for running outside in the winter, lots of commenters suggested wearing a base layer made from merino wool to stay warm. I have low blood pressure and Raynaud’s Syndrome (essentially bad circulation to the extremities in response to cold temperatures), and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of merino wool before!

When Icebreaker reached out to me and offered to send over some of their merino wool products, I was pumped. Given my issues with the cold weather and the historically snowy winter we’ve been having in Boston, the timing was perfect. I was most excited about the Rush Sports Bra because (overshare alert!) Raynaud’s affects my chest as well as fingers and toes, and it’s hard to find a base layer for that area that isn’t spandex or cotton when it comes to activewear.

I think my favorite items from the gift bundle were the two hats (Skyline Hat in black & Boreal Hat in white). I’ve been wearing them every day! They’re cute, ridiculously soft and oh-so-warm. But, most importantly: cute. 🙂

Everything I’m wearing in these pictures is a base layer. For the sake of showing them off, I’m not wearing anything over them, but—of course—you would if you were going for a winter hike, skiing or other outdoor winter activity. I’m heading up to Maine in a couple weekends for some snowboarding and snowmobiling, and will definitely be packing everything pictured. Icebreaker actually put together a whole infographic on how to layer for the cold that’s really helpful. Here’s the breakdown:

Base Layer: Warmth & Moisture Control (natural fibers, soft, fitted, moisture-wicking)
Mid Layer: Insulation (you want to trap in your body heat)
Outer Layer: Weather Protection (keep out rain and snow, but you still want ventilation capabilities)

WEARING | Everyday Longsleeve / Oasis Longsleeve Half Zip / Oasis Leggings / Women’s Multisport Cushion Micro Sock (not pictured) / Terra Gloves / Skyline Hat

My dad always used to tell me that the weather is never too cold if you dress appropriately for it (as high-school me is staring blankly back at him wearing a ruffled denim mini skirt with Uggs in February), and I finally have started following through on his advice.

Even if you do layer up, winter workouts can still be brutal, so on that note, I’m leaving you with a pump-up playlist to power you through your next chilly run or snowshoeing adventure. This is my current workout playlist, and if you follow me on Spotify, I’m constantly updating it with new music. I also use Soundcloud (that’s the playlist embedded in the right sidebar of the blog), but haven’t updated it in a while. Enjoy!

What songs are you currently working out to? Any tips to share for dressing for the cold weather?

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Icebreaker. Although I did not receive compensation, I did receive complimentary product. All opinions—as always!—are my own.

Filed Under: Activewear & Workout Style, Fashion, Playlists

45-Minute Treading Workout

November 23, 2014 by Nicole 10 Comments

I know this picture makes the workout look totally overcomplicated, but I swear it’s not—bear with me…

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend! I’m off to Btone in a couple hours to take a class before teaching a couple. For all you Boston peeps, Michele’s class is worth waking up early on a Sunday for—kicks my ass EVERY time. Add it to your must-try fitness list.

Anywho, I’ve got a fun cardio workout for all you gym-goes and treadmill owners. The treading class at Hilton Head Health was probably my favorite of the many varied exercise classes I tried there, so I thought it’d be fun to share one of my own creation and talk a little bit more about the fitness aspect of my stay at H3. If you missed my first post about the blogger trip to Hilton Head Health, I talked about the education component, specifically a lecture on portion control I attended.

All throughout the day at H3 there are fitness classes offered, ranging from yoga to TRX to aqua boxing in the pool. Some have capacity limits and require sign-up the day before, but for the majority of them, you can just pop into whichever ones sound appealing. That’s something I really liked about Hilton Head Health’s programming—they don’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. Yes, the majority of guests are there to lose weight, and there is guidance and encouragement to do certain classes, but there’s no drill-sergeant mentality. You make your own decisions about what you want to do.

Sarah and I at a TRX class at H3

During my stay, I tried a bunch of classes: Pilates for Flexibility, Yoga Flow, TRX Circuit, Muscle Mobility (SMR with lacrosse balls) and Treading (twice). A lot of the guests at H3 are just starting out on their road to health, and the instructors do a great job of teaching to beginners while also offering modifications for those who are more advanced in the class. As someone who’s in the industry, trust me—it’s a sign of a damn good instructor if a group of people ranging from young fitness bloggers to 60+-year-old beginners leaves a class all feeling like it was an awesome experience. So let’s slow clap it out for Camila at Hilton Head Health—her treading class had everyone sweating (and dancing).

45-Minute Treading Workout

This workout is made for the treadmill, but you could easily adapt it to another cardio machine (stationary bike, elliptical, etc.) The numbers used are for a treadmill with a 0-15 incline range, so adjust accordingly if your machine uses a different scale.

All levels can do this workout! You’ll see I use the terms walk, jog, run and sprint to describe the speed you should go—these terms will mean different speeds to different people. If you’re advanced, sprint might mean 10+mph. If you’re a newbie, sprint might mean power walking at 4+mph. Both are great! These terms represent more of an effort scale than a numerical speed value:

As you’ll see, the workout is broken up into sections. The numbers always represent incline. For speeds, I use walk, jog, run, sprint. The image at the beginning of this post is super detailed (you can print it out and bring it to the gym with you), but if you’re a treading pro, the following summary might be enough to guide you.

WARM UP | 0:00 – 3:00
At a 0 incline, do a minute of slow walking lunges (set treadmill to .5-1mph for these) then jog for two minutes.

STEADY CLIMB | 3:00 – 13:00
Maintain a steady jog-run pace throughout the 10 minutes. Every minute, you’ll change the resistance up by two points, starting at a 3 and peaking at a 15. You’ll then decrease the incline by four points each minute, returning back to a 3 incline.

CLIMBING SPEED INTERVALS | 13:00 – 17:30
Using 30-second intervals, you’ll run, sprint, and then walk (recover). Do this at a 3 incline, then a 6, then a 9.

BREAK | 17:30 – 19:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

ROLLING HILL | 19:00 – 29:30
Maintain a steady jog-run pace the entire time. You’ll change your incline every 60 seconds climbing up to the top, staying at the top for 30 seconds. Incline changes are in increments of three and get less steep with each of the three hills: 6, 9, 12, 15 (first hill); 3, 6, 9, 12 (second hill); 0, 3, 6, 9 (last hill).

BREAK | 29:30 – 31:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

SPEED INTERVALS | 31:00 – 36:30
These are done at a 0 incline. You recover for 30 seconds between each of the five sprints. The first two sprints are 60 seconds long and the last three sprints are 30 seconds long.

BREAK | 36:30 – 38:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

FINAL PUSH | 38:00 – 41:00
Run for a minute each at a 10, 5, and then 0 incline.

COOL DOWN | 41:00 – 45:00
Walk for three minutes, gradually slowing it down. Finish with a minute of those slow walking lunges we started with.

Andie from Can You Stay For Dinner?, Beth from Beth’s Journey, Monique from Ambitious Kitchen, Sarah from Sarah Fit and I before our first treading class at H3. Not pictured is Lisa from Snack Girl who joined us for our second treading class the next day. 🙂

In addition to taking classes, I also got a tennis lesson (I LOVED it!) and went for a couple beautiful runs on the beach by H3. The sand there is hard so it’s perfect for running and even bike riding. If you follow me on instagram, you’ve already seen the view, but it’s just too pretty not to share again:

Have you ever taken a treading class (or something similar) before? I find running on a treadmill painfully boring alone, but in the group setting it was so fun!